Currently, 18 member communities out of 11 nations take part in the Ring of European Cities of Iron Works.

Acireale

Italy

Acireale is a coastal city and comune in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. Acireale is also noted for its art and paintings: the oldest academy in Sicily, the “Accademia dei Dafnici e degli Zelanti”, is located here.

Arles-sur-Tech

France

Arles-sur-Tech is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of Céret. It is situated in the southernmost valley in mainland France before Spain, the Vallespir, through which the 84 km (52 mi) long river “Tech” flows. This small town is surrounded by the eastern Pyrenees which dominate skyline around Arles-sur-Tech.

Bad Hall

Austria

Bad Hall is a market town in the Steyr-Land district in central the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Its name, Bad Hall, means “salt bath,” a reference to its long history of baths and spas. It is renowned for its saline springs, strongly impregnated with iodine and bromine. Although the springs have been known since the 8th century, Hall has been noted for them only since 1855, when the springs became the property of the government.

Bienno

Italy

The Italian Borough of Bienno is part of The Camonica Valley, located in the eastern side of Lombardy.

The old medieval town, which lies on a roman grid, hasn’t changed much since the past times. Its ancient richness shows in the palaces, towers and monuments that still tower over the village, as well as in the frescoes and the bas-reliefs of renown medieval artists, and in a 12 mt high golden Christ statue.

Art has always been part of our history: blacksmithing has contributed to our ancient wealth and in the present days Bienno has become the “Borough of Artists”, thanks to the manor that hosts them.

Our food may not be the best option for a vegan diet, but it surely is if you like hearty and filling dishes.

Campdevànol

Spain

Campdevànol is a Spanish commune in the Comarca Ripollès in the province of Girona. One of the first industries in Campdevànol were the clavetaires (German key-maker). The guild of the clavetaires produced all kinds of keys for all Catalonia and large parts of Spain.

Donetsk

Ukraine

Donetsk is an industrial city in Ukraine on the Kalmius River. Administratively, it has been the centre of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the larger economic and cultural Donets Basin (Donbass) region. Donetsk is adjacent to another major city of Makiivka and along with other surrounding cities forms a major urban sprawl and conurbation in the region. Donetsk has been a major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine with a high concentration of companies and a skilled workforce.

Friesoythe

Germany

Friesoythe is a town and an independent municipality on the Soeste in the district Cloppenburg in Lower Saxony and belongs to the Oldenburger Münsterland. Since 2004, the city has been a member of the Ring of the European Cities of Iron Works and has therefore given itself the nickname Eisenstadt.

Ivano Frankivsk

Ukraine

Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Administratively, it is designated as a city of regional significance within the oblast, and together with a number of rural localities, is incorporated as Ivano-Frankivsk Municipality.

Kolbermoor

Germany

Kolbermoor is a town in the Bavarian Alpine foothills in the Upper Bavarian district of Rosenheim. The still relatively young city originated in 1859 by the railway connection to the Bavarian Maximiliansbahn.

Lipník nad Bečvou

Czech Republic

Lipník nad Bečvou is a small town located in the Olomouc Region, in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. The nearest larger towns are Přerov and Hranice, approximately ten to twelve kilometers (six to eight miles) distant. Lipník lies on the north bank of the Bečva river, and the Oderské Vrchy mountain range rises a short distance to the north. The town lies in the vicinity of the castle Helfštýn, built to guard the Moravská Brána, the Moravian Gate, a depression between the Oderské Vrchy and the Western Carpathians allowing a low-lying route from the Polish plains. For several centuries, Lipnik was an important waypoint on the Amber Road which passes through the Moravian Gate.

Mynämäki

Finland

Mynämäki is a municipality in the south-west of Finland. It lies in the landscape Varsinais-Suomi 30 kilometers northwest of Turku. In the south-west of its commune, Mynämäki borders on the Mietoistenlahti beach.

Olbernhau

Germany

Olbernhau is a small town in the Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony. The “City of the Seven Valleys” was first mentioned in documents in 1434. The city of Olbernhau is located in the Middle Erzgebirge on the border with the Czech Republic. It is also called the “City of the Seven Valleys” because it is situated in the valley of the Flöha and its Nebentales, whose streams flow into the Flöha.

Oude IJsselstreek

Netherlands

Oude IJsselstreek is a municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It was created on 1 January 2005 from the municipalities of Gendringen and Wisch. Its name comes from the river Alte Issel (Oude IJssel), which flows through the municipality.

Øvre Eiker

Norway

The municipality of Øvre Eiker has a long tradition with cultural work. The discovery of the largest gold treasure in the Nordic region, dating apprx to year 850 AD, indicates early relations with other countries. In the 15th century, ore was extracted from mines and several ironworks were established. One of these was Hassel Jernverk in Øvre Eiker (1649).

Pratovecchio Stia

Italy

Pratovecchio Stia is a municipality in the province of Arezzo, region Tuscany in Italy. The town is located about 39 km north of the provincial capital Arezzo and about 36 km east of the regional capital Florence.

Stolberg

Germany

Stolberg is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has a long history as an industrial town and belongs to the district Aachen and the lower district court of Eschweiler. Stolberg’s nickname Kupferstadt and the oldest brass town in the world – Kupferstadt has also been an official title of Stolberg since 24 July 2012, pointing to the long-standing tradition of its metalworking industry, which brought the city economic upswing but also contaminated sites.

Ulyanovsk

Russia

Ulyanovsk is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River 893 kilometers east of Moscow. The city, founded as Simbirsk, is the birthplace of Alexander Kerensky and Vladimir Lenin, for whom it was renamed in 1924. It is also famous for its writers such as Ivan Goncharov, Nikolay Yazykov and Nikolay Karamzin and painters (Arkady Plastov and Nikas Safronov).

Ybbsitz

Austria

Ybbsitz is a market municipality in the district of Amstetten in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. The community at the Niederösterreichische Eisenstraße has a great montan-historical tradition. In 2010 the forging in Ybbsitz was included in the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria.

Aim and purpose of the union …

„It’s the purpose of the union to support the communal development of the membertowns concerning both the metal design and the ironcraft, and also to promote the variety of local cultures and to set up a network of establishing one’s identity.“

Events

Our motto

We support the regional variety of blacksmithing and metal design in the global unity of Europe on all levels.

Our tradition is the basis of a successful and up-to-date future of the Ironcities. We interchange, proud of our traditions and open for new ideas. We support young journeymen: every Ironcity shall offer them accommodation and work.